VERMONT STATE POLICE
NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE POLICE
PRESS RELEASE
(2 of 2)
CASE #: 04A201455
Date: Tuesday June 8, 2004
Lt. John Scarinza is the “F” Troop Commander of the New Hamsphire State Police. He and Detective Sgt. Bob Bruno also of Troop “F”, participated in the meeting. Lt. John Scarinza released the following synopsis of the Maura Murray Missing Person Investigation conducted by his department:
Maura Murray Missing Person Investigation
St Albans, Vermont
June 8, 2004
On Monday, February 9th at approx 7:30 pm, Maura Murray, a University of Massachusetts College Student was involved in a single vehicle accident on Rt. 112 in the town of Haverhill, NH. When Haverhill Police arrived at the scene approx 8-10 minutes later they found the vehicle locked with no one around.
To date an extensive investigation has been conducted into the disappearance of Maura Murray. The following information has been learned.
On Saturday Feb 7th Maura spent the evening out with her father and friends at a local brew pub. Later that evening, in the early morning hours of Sunday the 8th of February, Maura was involved in a single vehicle accident in the town of Hadley, Mass. She was driving her fathers’ new car at the time of the accident, and struck a set of guardrails causing approx 10,000 dollars damage to the vehicle.
By Monday morning, Feb. 9th Maura had packed up all her belongings in her dorm room at U-Mass, putting everything neatly in boxes and putting all the boxes on her bed along with a personal note she had recently received from her boyfriend. She went on the Internet and looked up directions and overnight accommodations in the Bartlett, NH area as well as Burlington, VT area. She withdrew most of her money from her personal bank account. She sent e-mails to her supervisor at work as well as a college professor saying she would be absent from work and school for a week due to a death in the family.
There was no death in the family.
She did not tell her family, her friends or her classmates that she was planning to leave school for the week.
She left Massachusetts at approx. 4:30 PM in the afternoon of February 9th, 2004.
At approx. 7:30 pm Maura was involved in a single vehicle accident on Rt. 112 in the town of Haverhill, NH. This accident was the second accident she had had in three days. The vehicle she was driving at the time of her second accident was also her father’s car, one that he had loaned to her to use while at school.
Very shortly after the accident had occurred, a passerby stopped and offered assistance. Maura seemed to be uninjured, and refused assistance, and stated that she had called Triple-A to come tow the vehicle. In fact there was no cell phone coverage in that area and Triple-A was never called.
When the passerby stated that he was going to call local law enforcement to come and assist, Maura pleaded with him not to call the police.
Investigators are also aware of some additional stresses that were occurring in Maura’s life at the time of these events to include a difficult long distance relationship with her boyfriend in Oklahoma.
At the accident scene in Haverhill, there were no signs of any struggle, or any other evidence, which would indicate that a crime had been committed.At the time of Maura’s disappearance, there was approx. 2½ feet of snow on the ground. Searchers were able to easily distinguish deer and moose tracks in the area, and the snow cover greatly assisted the searchers in eliminating possible area’s where Maura could have traveled off of the main roads in the area. The snow greatly aided the search from the air, also due to the fact that any person who would have wandered off the road and into the woods would have left a trail that would readily be seen from the air.
To date, there have been 5 air searches with the New Hampshire State Police Helicopter.
There have been searches with Bloodhounds or K-9 search and rescue teams in the area surrounding the accident site on at least 4 separate occasions.
The area in and around the accident scene has been extensively searched on the ground. This effort has been co-coordinated by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, which is charged with all search and rescue efforts in New Hampshire.
State, local and Federal law enforcement agencies have been involved in the investigation into the disappearance of Maura Murray.
Investigators believe that Maura was headed for an unknown destination and may have accepted a ride in order to continue to that location.
Investigators are hoping to speak with anyone who may have given Maura a ride sometime after 7:30 pm on Feb 9th in or around the Haverhill, NH area. Also, if anyone has any personal knowledge of why Maura was leaving school, where she was headed, or what her intended destination was, this information would be extremely helpful to assist investigators in locating Maura.
Based upon the evidence gathered to date, New Hampshire State Police investigators strongly feel that the disappearance of Maura Murray does not have a common link with the investigation into the disappearance of Brianna Maitland in Vermont.
We continue however to work with our counterparts in the Vermont State Police, and local and federal law enforcement in our effort to locate both of these missing young women.
Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Maura Murray is urged to contact the New Hampshire State Police at #603-846-3333.
Auth: Lt. John K. Scarinza, Commander, Troop F